Japan now Vietnam’s leading economic partner: VCCI

Hanoi (VNA) – Japan is currently Vietnam’s leading economic partner, according to the
Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI).

The chamber noted that
in 2017, two-way trade reached 33.3 billion USD. The figure hit 27.8 billion in
the first nine months of 2018.

Japan imported from
Vietnam aquatic, apparel products and processed food, while Vietnam imported
from Japan materials, equipment and production machineries.

Last year, Japan was
the biggest investor of Vietnam with a record amount of 9.11 billion USD.
Japanese investment in the first nine months of 2018 hit 7 billion USD,
accounting for nearly 28 percent of the total foreign investment in Vietnam,
bringing the figure as of September this year to 55.77 billion USD.

According to Yoshiyiki
Fukuda, President and CEO of the Tokyo SME Support Centre, Vietnam is one of
the ASEAN countries with the highest GDP growth. Furthermore, Vietnam’s
population is rising and the human resources quality is improving, he said.

Many Japanese firms
intend to expand partnership with their Vietnamese peers on a win-win basis, he
said, adding that the firms, strong in technology and producing high-quality
products, expect to not only introduce their products and invest in their
strong areas, but also seek Vietnamese long-term partners to join production
and supply chains.

A survey by the Japan External
Trade Organisation (JETRO) found that nearly 70 percent of the Japanese firms
investing in Vietnam plan to expand their businesses in the future.

Japanese experts
advised that in order to become suppliers for Japanese firms, Vietnamese
businesses should improve the added values for their products.-VNA